I'm sure at least some of these companies are using the tariffs as cover for the price hikes they wanted to implement. Regardless, that tactic doesn't work without an administration to levy these tariffs. Also, it's sad that lawsuits have to be filed by companies and consumers alike in order to try to wrest some sense of value out of these affairs, but litigation appears to be the only language Trump’s White House understands.
I agree. Why is this burden falling on us? And the companies who raised prices from necessity or under the cover of tariffs? This seems like common sense: the person who spilled the milk, cleans up the milk. The 175 billion dollars should be divided amongst the people. That's it. No rich people should get refunds because they don't need them but for the rest of us, scale it, and send refunds to people who need money, really need it for groceries, diapers, rent, whatever. Trump is a greedy pig but that is our fn money. And he took it right out of our pockets, didn't he?
Early in the tariff game DJT had a meltdown because some of companies were going to show the tariffs in customers’ itemized costs along with taxes. I saw articles later that said a lot of the costs were passed on by changing policies on free shipping, returns & late fees.
Meanwhile according to Newsweek, companies are getting offers, mostly from “litigation brokers” who offer to buy tariff refund rights. A first it was about 20% but as the picture is more hopeful for refunds to companies offers have risen to about 60%. And CPB seems to be “progressing”.
The more I learn about Costco, the more I'm glad I shop there. Not only are the prices USUALLY better, the employees are (99%) happy and leap to assist you...because they're paid a living wage and benefits.
What fiscal duties? I don't understand why these companies are listed by Judd, except to say they got ripped off too. I have no love for greedy companies but I don't buy from companies that do not make me see how they are, uh oh, immabout to say it: WOKE. That is, they understand and mitigate the burden of costs on their customers, and the environmental damage by their manufacturing and transport of goods. If you start there as a consumer, I doubt that crocs or Lululemon is on your wish list. We should not have to go through those companies to get a check from the government. We should all (wealthy people excepted) get a check from the U.S. Treasury.
God bless Costco. They are the only large commercial enterprise of which I am aware who treats both employees and customers with respect. Costco ignored the DEI crap altogether, and has always paid top salary and benefits to its employees. As for customers, I have found many items at Costco which are 50% the cost on Amazon.
I was a young auditor who once drew the short stick to do an inventory count observation at Costco (client of the firm) at midnight on a Saturday. Surprisingly, that was the best experience amongst all my clients. The employees were extremely friendly and they were good at their jobs. They also cooked a ton of food onsite and fed everyone, including me. Truly a world class company.
Oh Adam, I am exhausted from ALL this WINNING! God help
us, because we know trump & his administration won’t! Nor will greed driven corporations. Remember at the height of covid & all the cleaning products, among other things, that increased in price? Oddly enough many did not go down to pre-covid pricing or close to what they were before. Guess they weren’t tired of all that “ winning” & “ gouging!?”
We will also be on the hook for interest as the administration drags out refunds. "By law, that money must also be returned with interest, which is accruing at a rate of about $650 million per month, according to recent court filings." NYTimes
Should we get angry with these companies who have nickel and dimed their consumers when prices were raised on them? I think we are misplacing that anger. We are expected to swallow raised prices, tighten our belts and lower the thermostat, aren't we? Aren't we the consumers the punching bag for capitalists? For things we need, it is theft by industry, for things that we don't need, caveat emptor, am I right? The refunds should come not from the companies but from the government. We can go around with our hands out waiting for a Lululemon refiund or we can collectively petition the government to issue checks to all households with incomes at a certain limit. And for those with lower incomes, more money. For those with higher incomes, less money. For those over the income cap, no money.
Just to rub more salt into the wound - whatever $ that were collected in tariffs has already been spent in Trump’s glorious military actions in Venezuela, the Caribbean, Gaza, Iran and elsewhere. Fleets ain’t cheap. So all of those “refunds” come out of guess who’s pocket.
At the same time we see price hikes on gasoline due to limitations on Straits of Hormuz. We are self sufficient regarding oil in USA and we just boosted Venezuela. While a fifth of the world oil passes through the straits We really ought not be affected. Yet the prices rise. I think these prices are set as a windfall for big oil as payback for funding trumps campaign. No doubt trump himself is loaded down with oil stock
Looks like while trump's lawyers are getting disbarred, the opposing lawyers are getting rich off of the lawsuits. While everybody is watching the AI bubble, they are missing the "billable hours bubble" that trump's frauds are creating. Now we know why he wanted free legal representation from the big law firms.
The price of folgers coffee went from $7 for a large container to $16 or so. Despite the court ruling they have not as yet reduced the price. I drink a fair amount of coffee and have been paying this tariff for a year plus. Time to pay up Kroger?
Despite the court ruling companies were still paying the tariffs until midnight on Feb 24th & the refund system is not functioning. So you want Kroger or whoever to discount the price they paid & hand out refunds now? I think it is very unlikely for 2 reasons. One is past remarks by the CEO and how he feels about prices & customers. ‘A little inflation’ helps Kroger bc when people can’t afford to eat out they buy more groceries to make meals at home. The other is the fact that sellers will charge ‘what the market will bear.’ Obviously people have shown they were willing to buy coffee etc. at the tariff prices. I wouldn’t expect more than a modest decrease. There are other pressures on producers too.
A lot of retailers changed other policies to offset a portion of tariff costs. Things like increasing late fees, making returning items more difficult & new policies for shipping & free shipping.
This works a lot like the Trump Oil Crisis. Rich folks get bigger dividends & the rest of us foot the bill.
I had a charge from UPS for tariffs on an item from Germany ($28.00 specifically stated in an email from them) the day before the Supreme court decision. I tried to reach out to them but was unable to get through. I then disputed the charge with AMEX and..... AMEX reversed the charges and gave me the money back. Anyone who knows and can prove they were charged for a tariff should reach out to their credit card company or bank and try to get the money directly from them. The money will in fact come from the company that charged you the tariff and you are likely to get a reversal of the charge.
So according to the judge, companies that paid tarrifs are "entitled to benefit". The American people should be "entitled to benefit" before those companies. But in the regime we're living under, ruled by billionaires with their corporations, boards of directors, lawyers, and lobbyists, the tables have been turned.
The issue is the companies that imported the products & paid the tariffs are the payers on record. They are also the ones who brought the lawsuits and /or went out of business. What we don’t have is a penalty clause for the benefit of customers who purchased the products.
Thanks for not calling me a smart ass 😱 I think I’m correct because many sources said when it 1st happened there are long established processes and law re: making adjustments after payments are processed including refunds. All based on who paid the tariffs at the border. They thought this would work the same way. But of course nothing ever does work as it should during this regime. That’s another wrinkle. It will cost them more in legal games to have a better chance of getting a refund or most of what is owed to them. It’s a game of “if”.
(There are articles about offers from a litigation brokers to buy tariff reimbursement rights at a percentage. Started at about 20% now about 60%. Buyer takes the risk & cost. Business hopes it’s cutting its losses.)
“It is more likely than not that businesses that are willing to invest the time and effort necessary to succeed in litigation with the federal government will recover some or all of their IEEPA tariff payments, but the administration’s declared resolve to fight against returning the funds means that it is unlikely that all businesses get back everything they paid,” said Adam Lyons, an attorney at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.— https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/03/11/will-consumers-and-businesses-ever-see-refunds-for-tariffs
I believe initially Amazon was breaking down prices to show the tariff charges but Trump shot it down, so it seems that the increases can be tracked. I searched previous larger purchases from amazon and saw significant increases in items after the tariff charges. I think at the very least the increased prices should come back down to initial prices before the tariff charges.
I'm sure at least some of these companies are using the tariffs as cover for the price hikes they wanted to implement. Regardless, that tactic doesn't work without an administration to levy these tariffs. Also, it's sad that lawsuits have to be filed by companies and consumers alike in order to try to wrest some sense of value out of these affairs, but litigation appears to be the only language Trump’s White House understands.
Just as prices went up during the pandemic. And they never go down.
I agree. Why is this burden falling on us? And the companies who raised prices from necessity or under the cover of tariffs? This seems like common sense: the person who spilled the milk, cleans up the milk. The 175 billion dollars should be divided amongst the people. That's it. No rich people should get refunds because they don't need them but for the rest of us, scale it, and send refunds to people who need money, really need it for groceries, diapers, rent, whatever. Trump is a greedy pig but that is our fn money. And he took it right out of our pockets, didn't he?
How?
Estimates are that tariffs in FY2025 cost every US household around $1,200. If you purchased a lot of imported stuff, you'll have paid more.
Per household tariff costs for FY2026 are uncertain, as the situation is still in flux.
Early in the tariff game DJT had a meltdown because some of companies were going to show the tariffs in customers’ itemized costs along with taxes. I saw articles later that said a lot of the costs were passed on by changing policies on free shipping, returns & late fees.
I find it very odd that so much was made of the process for refunding tariffs. There was supposed to be a process in place. Numerous financial advisors gave advice like this article. Maybe it didn’t fit all circumstances or wasn’t designed for massive numbers of refunds. https://www.gaiadynamics.ai/blog/what-every-importer-should-know-about-the-tariff-refund-process-in-2025
Meanwhile according to Newsweek, companies are getting offers, mostly from “litigation brokers” who offer to buy tariff refund rights. A first it was about 20% but as the picture is more hopeful for refunds to companies offers have risen to about 60%. And CPB seems to be “progressing”.
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5781279-trump-tariff-refund-system/
"litigation appears to be the only language "
Litigation is the American way...
Even worse, Trump is working on new permanent tariffs to replace the ones SCOTUS struck down. They probably aren’t legal either.
Rinse, repeat.
The more I learn about Costco, the more I'm glad I shop there. Not only are the prices USUALLY better, the employees are (99%) happy and leap to assist you...because they're paid a living wage and benefits.
Costco's CEO has highlighted the importance of taking care of the employees. (Here's one of many hits: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lindsey-graham-costco-ceo-minimum-wage-debate_n_60385208c5b60d98bec8fc9d)
Great report and great list PI!!
Linseed is a very sick man.
It sorta makes me want to become a member, even though I wouldn't shop there.
Lists are powerful. Keep naming them - those who keep their promises and those who shirk their fiscal duties to their customers.
What fiscal duties? I don't understand why these companies are listed by Judd, except to say they got ripped off too. I have no love for greedy companies but I don't buy from companies that do not make me see how they are, uh oh, immabout to say it: WOKE. That is, they understand and mitigate the burden of costs on their customers, and the environmental damage by their manufacturing and transport of goods. If you start there as a consumer, I doubt that crocs or Lululemon is on your wish list. We should not have to go through those companies to get a check from the government. We should all (wealthy people excepted) get a check from the U.S. Treasury.
God bless Costco. They are the only large commercial enterprise of which I am aware who treats both employees and customers with respect. Costco ignored the DEI crap altogether, and has always paid top salary and benefits to its employees. As for customers, I have found many items at Costco which are 50% the cost on Amazon.
I was a young auditor who once drew the short stick to do an inventory count observation at Costco (client of the firm) at midnight on a Saturday. Surprisingly, that was the best experience amongst all my clients. The employees were extremely friendly and they were good at their jobs. They also cooked a ton of food onsite and fed everyone, including me. Truly a world class company.
What a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing it.
Y'all tired of winning yet?
Oh Adam, I am exhausted from ALL this WINNING! God help
us, because we know trump & his administration won’t! Nor will greed driven corporations. Remember at the height of covid & all the cleaning products, among other things, that increased in price? Oddly enough many did not go down to pre-covid pricing or close to what they were before. Guess they weren’t tired of all that “ winning” & “ gouging!?”
So tired.
Indeed.
We will also be on the hook for interest as the administration drags out refunds. "By law, that money must also be returned with interest, which is accruing at a rate of about $650 million per month, according to recent court filings." NYTimes
Should we get angry with these companies who have nickel and dimed their consumers when prices were raised on them? I think we are misplacing that anger. We are expected to swallow raised prices, tighten our belts and lower the thermostat, aren't we? Aren't we the consumers the punching bag for capitalists? For things we need, it is theft by industry, for things that we don't need, caveat emptor, am I right? The refunds should come not from the companies but from the government. We can go around with our hands out waiting for a Lululemon refiund or we can collectively petition the government to issue checks to all households with incomes at a certain limit. And for those with lower incomes, more money. For those with higher incomes, less money. For those over the income cap, no money.
Just to rub more salt into the wound - whatever $ that were collected in tariffs has already been spent in Trump’s glorious military actions in Venezuela, the Caribbean, Gaza, Iran and elsewhere. Fleets ain’t cheap. So all of those “refunds” come out of guess who’s pocket.
Tariffs so nice we get to pay twice.
At the same time we see price hikes on gasoline due to limitations on Straits of Hormuz. We are self sufficient regarding oil in USA and we just boosted Venezuela. While a fifth of the world oil passes through the straits We really ought not be affected. Yet the prices rise. I think these prices are set as a windfall for big oil as payback for funding trumps campaign. No doubt trump himself is loaded down with oil stock
Looks like while trump's lawyers are getting disbarred, the opposing lawyers are getting rich off of the lawsuits. While everybody is watching the AI bubble, they are missing the "billable hours bubble" that trump's frauds are creating. Now we know why he wanted free legal representation from the big law firms.
The price of folgers coffee went from $7 for a large container to $16 or so. Despite the court ruling they have not as yet reduced the price. I drink a fair amount of coffee and have been paying this tariff for a year plus. Time to pay up Kroger?
Despite the court ruling companies were still paying the tariffs until midnight on Feb 24th & the refund system is not functioning. So you want Kroger or whoever to discount the price they paid & hand out refunds now? I think it is very unlikely for 2 reasons. One is past remarks by the CEO and how he feels about prices & customers. ‘A little inflation’ helps Kroger bc when people can’t afford to eat out they buy more groceries to make meals at home. The other is the fact that sellers will charge ‘what the market will bear.’ Obviously people have shown they were willing to buy coffee etc. at the tariff prices. I wouldn’t expect more than a modest decrease. There are other pressures on producers too.
A lot of retailers changed other policies to offset a portion of tariff costs. Things like increasing late fees, making returning items more difficult & new policies for shipping & free shipping.
This works a lot like the Trump Oil Crisis. Rich folks get bigger dividends & the rest of us foot the bill.
I had a charge from UPS for tariffs on an item from Germany ($28.00 specifically stated in an email from them) the day before the Supreme court decision. I tried to reach out to them but was unable to get through. I then disputed the charge with AMEX and..... AMEX reversed the charges and gave me the money back. Anyone who knows and can prove they were charged for a tariff should reach out to their credit card company or bank and try to get the money directly from them. The money will in fact come from the company that charged you the tariff and you are likely to get a reversal of the charge.
Most don’t buy direct overseas. Instead they bought an imported item at a store that paid the tariff.
So according to the judge, companies that paid tarrifs are "entitled to benefit". The American people should be "entitled to benefit" before those companies. But in the regime we're living under, ruled by billionaires with their corporations, boards of directors, lawyers, and lobbyists, the tables have been turned.
The issue is the companies that imported the products & paid the tariffs are the payers on record. They are also the ones who brought the lawsuits and /or went out of business. What we don’t have is a penalty clause for the benefit of customers who purchased the products.
Thanks for the explanation, Ann.
I don't reckon you're a smart ass by any stretch, Ann. Smart, yes... I was seeing the forest. Thanks again for showing me the trees.
Thanks for not calling me a smart ass 😱 I think I’m correct because many sources said when it 1st happened there are long established processes and law re: making adjustments after payments are processed including refunds. All based on who paid the tariffs at the border. They thought this would work the same way. But of course nothing ever does work as it should during this regime. That’s another wrinkle. It will cost them more in legal games to have a better chance of getting a refund or most of what is owed to them. It’s a game of “if”.
(There are articles about offers from a litigation brokers to buy tariff reimbursement rights at a percentage. Started at about 20% now about 60%. Buyer takes the risk & cost. Business hopes it’s cutting its losses.)
“It is more likely than not that businesses that are willing to invest the time and effort necessary to succeed in litigation with the federal government will recover some or all of their IEEPA tariff payments, but the administration’s declared resolve to fight against returning the funds means that it is unlikely that all businesses get back everything they paid,” said Adam Lyons, an attorney at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.— https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/03/11/will-consumers-and-businesses-ever-see-refunds-for-tariffs
How does a company go about tracking individual sales and issuing refunds??? That seems like a herculean task.
I’m not saying it shouldn’t be done, but what is the extra cost? What does it cost to give me a $4 refund on my yoga pants?
There’s not necessarily any record. The store doesn’t have a record of your name and address if you paid cash.
Even if you paid with a credit card, there’s not necessarily a permanent record.
Kind of my point.
I wasn’t disagreeing with you.
I paid $62 in tariff charges to DHL for some light bulbs I purchased, maybe I should sue them to get it back
I believe initially Amazon was breaking down prices to show the tariff charges but Trump shot it down, so it seems that the increases can be tracked. I searched previous larger purchases from amazon and saw significant increases in items after the tariff charges. I think at the very least the increased prices should come back down to initial prices before the tariff charges.
Bezos bent the knee.